Till Death Do Us Part
by Mizuki Ichigo
Summary: When Death comes it is inevietable, but what if it is not your time? Can Vincent Valentine find out who is plotting to dispose of a certain dark haired female? A supernatural mystery romance.
1. Prologue: The Black Reaper

_Hello, boy is it good to be back... _

_This fic is different from my others in that it incorporates a few Greek mythology references though its not necessary to be up to date on it. Also another note is that it is an AU (Alternate Universe)._

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy!_

_**Prologue: The Black Reaper (Kuro no Shinigami)**_

* * *

Quickly running down a torch lit hallway, Zack Fair ruffled back his dark spiked hair as he thought over what he was about to tell his boss. Skidding to a stop as he nearly passed a darkened office; he gulped and cleared his throat to announce his presence. 

Adjusting his black tie and straightening out his overall appearance as best as he could, despite the fact that he clearly was not a person who usually wore suits, Zack slowly entered the room, past the crimson silk drapes that hung by the doors. Stepping onto the lush black carpet he made his way past the open balcony doors towards an elegantly carved crystal desk. Stopping just a foot away from the desk, he kneeled down on a knee bowing his head in respect and with a bit of nervousness to the immaculately dressed man sitting behind the desk.

"My Lord…"

"Is there something wrong?"

Looking up at his superior's face, Zack stood up and chuckled nervously, "No, not at all, everything is just dandy, in fact, I'd say that everything is going as scheduled."

Seeing his boss raise one dark slender eyebrow, Zack then raked a hand through his spikes and gazed down at the carpet, "Okay, so I suck at lying…but, Vincent-

Pausing as he the gauged his superior's reaction at being called by his first name, and seeing no anger flit across his face, Zack continued, "Sir, if I may…Tseng tells me that Rufus is losing patience with you, he wants you to find yourself a wife ASAP."

Standing there uncomfortably as he watched Vincent silently stand up from his seat and make his way over to his liquor table, he was about to say something, when surprisingly Vincent came over to Zack with two glasses filled with an electric blue liquid.

"Zackary…how long have you been working with me?" said Vincent in a calm almost friendly tone as he passed Zack a glass.

Glancing down at the bright liquid, Zack swirled it around and then looked up to see Vincent standing there waiting for his reply, "Uh…since…your tenth reincarnation…I think…"

Stepping away from Zack, Vincent walked over to the balcony overlooking the Lifestream that coursed pass, the acid green of the river reflected off of his pale face, giving him a sickly look, "I see."

In all of his years of service to Vincent, Zack had never seen his usual, calm and unruffled superior look so…despondent. Shrugging his shoulders he then took a large gulp of the blue liquid and immediately regretted drinking so much, coughing heavily as the liquid burned him right to his core, he then felt the presence of an unannounced visitor.

"Sir- someone…here" said a hoarse Zack as he snapped his fingers which then lighted the torches in the room.

"VINCENT VALENTINE!"

Quickly getting out of the line of fire, Zack then stumbled over next to Vincent as the two of them watched a stunning woman with long black hair glide into the room. Even in death, Désirée Lockhart, was a sight to behold, glaring at the crimson eyed man standing next to a pale faced Zack, she was about to unleash her wrath upon the man, when he calmly raised a hand as if in parley.

"Mrs. Lockhart…and what do I owe to the favour of your presence?"

"MY DAUGHTER!"

Looking slightly surprised at her outburst, Vincent glanced at Zack who was slowly regaining colour in his face. Catching on to Vincent's glance, Zack then whispered softly, "Tifa Lockhart."

"Mrs. Lockhart, you do know that I only deal with the dead."

"YOU BASTARD! YOU PROMISED ME THAT SHE WOULD BE SAFE!"

Now slightly raising his voice, Vincent then stepped towards the shaking spirit, "She is safe."

Before she could continue, Vincent then raised a hand and suddenly Désirée felt a calming presence beside her.

"Dés…Tifa is fine, she knows how to fend for herself…oh yes, and Aerith Gainsborough wants the both of us to see her new flowers, let's go." said Aaron Lockhart as he led his wife out of the room.

Breathing heavily, as she allowed herself to be led out of the room by her husband, Désirée then nodded, "Your right." Pausing in mid-step, she looked over her shoulder at Vincent and Zack, and turned fully around, bowing low, "My Lord, I must apologize for my behaviour, I am sorry for disturbing you."

"Apology accepted, though I expect you to keep Rufus busy…"

Looking up with a smile on her face, both of the Lockharts nodded, "Aerith says hello." called out Aaron, just as the two of them disappeared.

Raising his eyebrow, at Zack's flushed face, Vincent then returned back to his seat and snapped his fingers, which then made the two glasses in Zack's hands dissolve into smoke and drift off towards the balcony. Fidgeting with his tie in embarrassment of his boss hearing about his girlfriend, Zack then gave a small grin.

"Zack, how do you know about this Tifa Lockhart?"

Surprised that Vincent would even ask about his life before he passed on, he then made a circular motion with his hands, and in his hands appeared a large circular gold-glided mirror. Turning the mirror so that it faced Vincent, he then approached the desk and handed it over to him.

"I met her before I passed on…Sir…may I?" Seeing the eager look on Zack's face to leave and meet up with Aerith, Vincent nodded.

Once Zack disappeared with a slightly dramatic puff of smoke, Vincent then looked into the mirror and saw a beautiful teenage girl clutching a chemistry textbook, walking to school with two of her friends, smiling and laughing.

"_C'mon, __Tifa lemme see your worksheet!"_ whined a short black haired girl who bounced along side her friend.

"_No way Yuffie! I worked on that a__ll week, right Cloud?"_ said the girl named Tifa as she turned and smiled at the shy blond spiked hair boy around the same age as her.

Nodding in surprise at Tifa addressing him, Cloud then turned slightly pink and continued ahead of the two girls.

Eyes widening at Cloud's reaction, Yuffie then chased after him and called out to Tifa, _"Hey Teef, what's up with Cloud?"_

With a smile Tifa shook her head, _"I don't know Yuffie, what do you think?"_

Feeling the tugging of a smile coming on to his face, Vincent then frowned; nobody he had ever encountered had ever caused him to truly smile before, smirk yes, but smile, now that was a first. Placing the mirror face down on his desk, Vincent then stepped back towards his balcony and watched as more glowing strands of souls joined the Lifestream, making up his mind he then said out loud to no one in particular, "Tifa Lockhart…."

* * *

_Next: Time flies, mysterious flowers, someone dies?_

_Okay, so what's the verdict? (What do you think?)_


	2. Halloween

_Figuring out the genre for this fic was hard, since its going to be an amalgamation of many genres, like romance, supernatural, mystery, angst, action...anyways..._

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy!_

**_Phase I -Halloween_**

* * *

Five years later…

"Tifa c'mon, Cloud is going to be there!"

Bouncing on top of her bed in her clubbing/Halloween outfit, Yuffie then jumped onto Tifa's bed, causing a few textbooks to fall heavily onto the floor. Sighing in frustration at her roommate, Tifa took off her reading glasses and then placed them on her bedside table, glaring up at Yuffie who gave her a sheepish grin.

"Yuffie you do know that Professor Highwind assigned us a term project and so far all that you have gotten done is your name at the top. I really need to get this done now…so you go ahead, tell the others: I'm sorry." Picking up the fallen texts, Tifa then grabbed her messenger bag off her desk and began stuffing it with them.

"Teee-fa, it's Friday night, c'mon, you know that Cloud will-

Stopping mid-sentence, Yuffie then did the motion of zipping her mouth at the sight of Tifa cracking her knuckles. Climbing off of Tifa's bed, Yuffie then nodded, "Alright, but you better bring your cell, we're going to be at 7th Heaven so-

"Call if there is an emergency; I know…who would have thought that you are such a worry-wart…" Smirking at the offended expression on Yuffie's face, Tifa then grabbed her bag and walked out of her dorm room with a smile.

* * *

Heading over to Midgar University's main library, Tifa glanced behind her uneasily. Shaking her head she then ignored the thought of seeing a black crow watching her enter the nearly empty library.

Pulling out a chair from the large mahogany table, she then dropped her heavy bag on the table with a loud _thunk_. Pulling out her psychology text, some paper and her pencil bag, she then took a seat and rummaged around her bag for her glasses, when she groaned audibly.

"Is something wrong?"

Freezing at the sound of someone's voice, she slowly turned around, and then sighed, "Sephiroth, you scared me…what are you doing here this late?"

Showing her the stack of books in his hands, he then gave her a wry smile, "Hojo, he wants my dissertation by Monday."

"Wow, so soon?"

"Yeah, say…what are you doing here, its Halloween…shouldn't you be out partying with Puffie?" Sephiroth's emerald eyes then widened as Tifa openly giggled in the silent library.

Feigning ignorance of his error, Sephiroth then added a believable surprised look with his, "What?"

Shaking her head as she wiped away her tears of happiness, she then grinned up at him, "Thanks."

"For what?" said a clearly astounded Sephiroth, who then rolled his eyes and walked back towards his table.

"Hey, you mind if I join you?" called out Tifa from across the room.

Shaking his head, Sephiroth then watched as she quickly chucked her stuff back into her bag and jogged over to his table by the large windows overlooking the clock tower and fountain. Still scrutinizing her as she unloaded her bag, Sephiroth merely watched with a strange fascination at how she could just throw everything into that bag and pull it back out without a single thing being crushed or wrinkled.

"Oh yeah…hey-

Snapping out of his daze, Sephiroth looked up at Tifa, "Yes?"

"Can you watch my stuff, I'm just going to run back to my dorm to get my glasses, okay?" Seeing him nod, she then took off towards the stairs, down to the main floor and out the door, shivering slightly in the October chill.

Glancing out the window Sephiroth then watched as the small figure of Tifa run towards the dorms.

* * *

"There they are." Picking up her glasses from her bedside table, Tifa then noticed the single window in the room was open. Walking over to the window, she then stuck her head outside looking around, just as she was about to pull her head back in, in the corner of her eye she thought that she saw a shadow move. Rolling her eyes she then muttered, "It's just the wind."

Closing the window she was about to leave when she noticed on her desk was a single white rose tied with a black silk ribbon. Picking up the rose, she then frowned, "Yuffie?"

"Yuffie are you- ouch!" Dropping the rose, Tifa then sucked on her finger where the thorn had pierced her, inspecting the cut she then quickly picked up the rose, ignoring the fact that her finger stained the white petals, and placed it on Yuffie's bed. Turning off the lights and shutting the door behind her, she made her way back to the library.

* * *

Standing under the light given off of the clock tower, Tifa examined the cut on her finger, she then blinked in surprise, the cut that was originally the size of a paper cut, was now a full finger length cut. Quickly pulling out a tissue from the pocket of her jeans, she then stanched the flow of blood that rose out from the cut, thinking that the bleeding would have stopped she then pulled the tissue away to quickly clamp it back on her now fully bleeding hand. Feeling lightheaded, as she realized that she was standing next to a small pool of her own blood, Tifa stumbled towards the library doors, "Sephiroth…"

Blinking to keep herself conscious, she then took a step forwards and wavered, struggling to keep balanced, she then gave into the urge to close her eyes, falling forwards, expecting to hit the cold hard cement sidewalk….

"Stay with me." called a deep voice

Opening her eyes, she then took in the blurred image of a dark haired man hovering over her, cradling her head. Slightly focusing her eyes she then took in the deep crimson colour of his eyes, the depths of which she could not comprehend.

"Tifa...stay with me…"

Faintly hearing his voice and the feel of his fingers brushing away her bangs, she then took one last focused glance at his eyes; finally finding what puzzled her about them, and then closed them to the black oblivion that took her.

* * *

_Next: Suspicions, recovery, and the Afterlife?_

_Please Review._


	3. The Meeting

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy!_

**_Phase I - part II: The Meeting_**

* * *

"_Will she be alright?"_

"_Yes, she lost quite a lot of blood, but she was lucky."_

"_Thank you."_

"_Sephiroth, you're sure that you found her outside like that?"_

"_Yes, she was lying there, with a black dog standing next to her whining."_

"NYX!"

"Yes, my Lord?" Called out an eerie woman's voice as she then stepped out of the shadows, wearing a black cloak, which the hood covered all but the lower half of her face.

Stepping away from his desk and the gold mirror that showed Sephiroth, Yuffie, and Cloud standing by Tifa's hospital bed, Vincent then approached the Goddess of darkness.

"Nyx, who put the Innocent's rose in Tifa Lockhart's room?"

Noticing the cloaked woman's smile appear, Vincent inwardly shuddered, seeing this woman smile scared him, "Vincent Valentine…You are concerned for this mortal?"

Preferring to not answer her, Vincent strode over to his desk and picked up the now literally blood red rose with its black silk ribbon tied around it. Feeling the warmth of the rose radiate throughout his office, he then crushed then head of the rose, which then oozed out blood and slowly turned the rose back white.

Watching him, Nyx then bowed her head and slipped back into the shadows, "Jealous…."

* * *

"Hey, she's coming to…" whispered Cloud who was watching Tifa stir from her slumber.

"Tifa are you alright?"

Turning towards a worried Yuffie and giving her a lopsided smile, she slowly nodded, "I'm fine, and how did I get here?"

"You can thank Sephiroth for that; he's the one who found you…TIFA WHAT THE HELL DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?!"

Wincing and noticing that a nurse came running into her room, Tifa lay there on her bed helplessly watching Yuffie break down in tears, "Tifa…I was…so worried!"

"Now honey, she's fine, come here, let's get you some water." Leading a sobbing Yuffie out the door the nurse then smiled kindly at Tifa, who gave her a thankful nod.

After Yuffie was escorted out of Tifa's private hospital room, Cloud then shuffled over to Tifa's bedside table and poured her a glass of water, "Here, you must be thirsty."

Feeling the energy come back into her limbs, Tifa sat up and gladly took the glass from Cloud's hand and sipped at it carefully.

"Tifa…do you remember what happened?" asked Sephiroth who stood by the window looking out at the fading sunlight in contemplation.

Thinking back, Tifa could only remember pieces of the incident: finding the rose, seeing blood and seeing a pair of crimson eyes, that seemed familiar and yet foreign at the same time. "I…remember finding a white rose and this…man who helped me…"

"A man?" Surprised at hearing the concern in Cloud's voice, she slowly nodded and continued, "He, suddenly came out of no where but all I can really remember of him is his eyes…You saw him right?"

"There was no man, only a black dog that was pawing at you." Sephiroth then turned away from the window and approached Tifa, "You're sure there was a man?"

"Yes, I'm completely sure; I couldn't possibly forget those eyes…."

* * *

Growling in frustration, Vincent leaned back into his chair and rubbed his temples, sighing. Feeling the presence of Zack enter the room, he then felt the need to put things into action.

"Sir, Rufus wants to see you now."

"Zack, call Aerith here."

"Aerith? Sir…uh, why?"

Narrowing his eyes, he then watched as Zack took a step back and then scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "Right. I'll go get her now." Zack then hastily, disappeared with a pop.

Just as Vincent pulled out a set of documents, Tseng, Rufus' right hand man appeared in front of him. Bowing slightly, Tseng then announced that Rufus was on his way to see him.

Always one to keep up appearances, Rufus no doubt arrived before Vincent with his whole entourage of advisors, secretaries and reporters, dressed in his best tailored Armani suit. Standing in front of Vincent in silence as if in wait for the perfect moment, Rufus gazed around him before he spoke.

"Vincent, you're avoiding me."

Staring at the cool blond man standing in front of him, Vincent then turned back to his paperwork, "What do you want?"

Clicking his tongue, Rufus stepped up to the ornate crystal desk and pressed his palms flat onto it causing the parchment Vincent was just writing on to burst into flames.

Not even blinking, Vincent made a motion of grabbing a sheet of parchment out of thin air and in his hand appeared the same copy that was just burnt to a crisp. Continuing to ignore the man, Vincent dipped his albino peacock feather into an inkwell and signed his signature with a flourish.

"I want you to find yourself a consort; it has been long enough, surely you yearn for a companion?"

"I prefer to leave my options open." said Vincent coolly

"Should I release Chaos upon the earth, you will be the one who will pay most dearly for it."

"Is that so? I believe that it is not within your power, as I am the one who ultimately controls him. Now, if you may…I have many other souls to deal with." Standing up from his desk, Vincent walked out of his office without a glance back to the blond man.

Once, he was sure that Vincent was not in the vicinity; Rufus chuckled and turned to Tseng who nodded silently and disappeared to do as he had requested.

"I assure you, things are not as simple as they seem."

* * *

Hearing the sound of footsteps approaching her bed, Tifa tightened her grip on the nurse call button in her hand. Carefully peeking between her eyelashes, she then nearly gasped in shock, it was the man who saved her!

Vincent stopped in his tracks, when he felt the slightest of movement from her still form, pausing, he took a moment to reconsider his options of either A.) Continue or B.) Leave while he still could.

Silently turning back around, he was about to leave when he heard, "Wait…please, don't go…"

Sitting up now and fully aware of her disheveled appearance, Tifa took in the mysterious stranger: tall, pale, long silky ink black hair that fell into his eyes and dressed in what looked to be a total black Prada suit with a crimson tie that matched his eyes. Those eyes were what caught her attention, determined and worried they were when she last saw them, but now they displayed something that she wouldn't have expected, surprise and something between annoyance and amusement.

Conscious that she was just staring at him, Tifa flushed a lovely shade of pink and muttered out a 'sorry'.

Raising an eyebrow, Vincent stepped towards her and stopped a foot away, mulling over whether he should answer her or not, he continued to give her a blank look.

"Thank you."

Clearly she said the wrong thing as she noticed that he stared back at her in obvious amazement.

Blinking a few times, Vincent finally registered the fact that: she could see him and she was referring to their first encounter, satisfied that she was alive and well, he then turned his back on her and headed towards the door and said, "It wasn't your time."

"What?"

Stopping in his tracks, he glanced back at her over his shoulder, "It was not your time to leave."

"What do you mean by that? You saved my life, I remember you…you called out to me…who _are_ you?"

Fully turning around to face her, he noticed the expectant look she had, and nearly smiled but stopped in time to tell her his name, "Vincent Valentine."

"Well, thank you Vincent; I wouldn't be here if it weren't for your help."

"You may regret thanking me, once you know of my true identity…" He then faced the glass door and reached for the silver handle.

"You're a hit man or something?"

Smirking, He then turned around and said, "No…I'm Death."

And he left the room, leaving a bemused Tifa to ponder the exact meaning of his words.

* * *

_Next: Back to normal?_

_Mythology 101: There really is a Greek Goddess of Darkness/Night called Nyx._

_Please Review._


	4. Semblance of Normalcy?

_Gah, I would have updated earlier if it weren't for my bloody internet screwing things up..._

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy!_

_**Phase I - part III: Semblance of Normalcy?**_

* * *

"Zack!" Running up to him and giving him a hug, Aerith smiled as she pulled away from him, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be working?"

"Indeed, Zack…"

Spinning around, Zack then broke away from Aerith and nervously chuckled at the sight of Vincent walking towards them.

"Sir, I was just-

"Miss Gainsborough." said Vincent as he bowed his head towards the flower girl and then gave Zack a look that clearly said: _I will speak with you later._

Inspecting the organized chaos of all sorts of flowers that surrounded him, Vincent stopped in front of a row of white lilies that shied away from his presence, smiling wryly at them, he continued on.

As intimidating as Zack described him, Aerith saw through Vincent's cold demeanor, and approached him, ignoring the silent urges and flailing arms from Zack to stop.

"And, what can I do for you, Mr. Death?" said Aerith with a cheerful smile plastered on her face.

Glancing at her, Vincent then lowered the ink black Easter lily bloom that he was scrutinizing, "What can you tell me about the Innocent's rose?"

Frowning, Aerith then took a step back from him and turned her head away in thought, "The Innocent's rose, a pure white rose which is deadly to all mortals, one prick of it's thorn and they pass on. It is forbidden, unless under strict orders to allow One to bring such a flower to the mortal realm."

This time frowning himself, Vincent then focused his attention on Aerith, "Is it possible for a mortal to be pricked by the rose and fall into a coma?"

Blinking up at him in surprise, Aerith then glanced at Zack who nodded encouragingly to her, "That's not possible…unless…"

"Unless?"

"Unless…the mortal has the blood of a god."

* * *

Two days after her encounter with Vincent, Tifa insisted to the displeasure of the doctors, and to the delight to Yuffie, that she return back to classes and go back to her normal life. Returning back to classes with many people giving her relieved smiles and hugs, Tifa forgot the events that lead to her hospitalization and resumed her life of a starving student.

The moment Tifa started her first year at Midgar University, Reno, a professional in slacking off, a Visual Arts major _and_ someone who happened to be a close friend to Yuffie, had pestered her to model for him. Day in and day out, Reno had barged into their dorm room begging and pleading to Tifa to model, he even resorted to proposing marriage, with a cubic zirconia engagement ring and a dozen wilted daisies he _borrowed_ from the art department. Even with a stunt like that Tifa still refused him until, that one lucky day when he found out she had a thing for Cloud Strife and managed to get him into her circle of friends, she finally relented at the start of her sophomore year.

"Yo, you sure you're up for it?"

"Reno, stop asking me that and start painting." said an annoyed Tifa from her seat in front of the red-head visual arts major.

"Okay, okay, just stay still." Picking up his brush, Reno then fiddled with a tube of blue oil paint and glanced back at Tifa who was sitting cross legged on top of a large black cube.

"So…how you doin'?"

Narrowing her eyes at Reno, who gave her a _What? Can't I talk while I paint your Hotness?_ look, she then sighed, "I'm fine, really if it weren't for Vincent, I wouldn't be here would I?"

"Right, so this Vincent…he look anything like me?"

"Dream on Reno, and get to work!"

* * *

After sitting still for the last three hours with breaks interspersed, Reno finally decided to call it quits for the day and began packing up his stuff, while Tifa stretched out the kinks in her legs.

"Yo, you wanna get a drink?" said Reno as he fingered the cigarette perched atop his ear.

Smiling, Tifa shook her head, "Sorry, I'm supposed to meet Yuffie at the main admin building."

"Suit yourself…I'll be by the Law building with Rude if you change your mind." Lifting up a white sheet, Reno then threw it over his painting and winked at Tifa before he left, "No peeking."

Rolling her eyes, Tifa then followed after him, closing the door with a snap.

* * *

"Teef!"

Waving to Yuffie who was jumping up and down excitedly from across the room, Tifa quickly made her way over, passing lost students and exasperated councilors trying to explain university policies to panicky parents.

"What's up Yuffie?"

"You'll never guess!" Seeing the amused smile on Tifa's face, Yuffie then squealed, "There is a new TA in Highwind's class!"

"A new Teaching Assistant? But isn't Shera still-

"Yeah, Highwind asked for another and it just so happens, that he looks like that hot actor!" Jumping on the spot Yuffie made the motion to get a high-five from Tifa when she saw the dubious look on her face. "What?"

Crossing her arms, Tifa gave Yuffie her _What did you do now?_ look, "How did you find this out?"

"Um…I left my textbook in class and went back to get it when this really hot guy walks into…Fine! I followed him and listened to their conversation, happy now?" said Yuffie sheepishly.

Eyeing Yuffie's puppy dog look, Tifa grudgingly gave her a playful shove, "So what are we doing here then?"

Perking up at Tifa's playfulness, Yuffie then grinned, "Well, I thought that since Highwind is such a grump-

"Yuffie!"

"What he is…anyways, I thought that we should welcome him and give him a tour of the campus." Winking Yuffie then scanned the doorway, while Tifa just shook her head at her best friend in amusement.

"Look!" Latching onto her arm excitedly, Yuffie then pointed to the revolving doors, "It's him!"

Turning to the door, Tifa then let out a gasp of surprise, as said man, wearing a Hugo Boss suit underneath a Bogart style trench coat, entered the building. The moment he set his foot down on the navy blue carpet of the administration building, complete silence fell upon them all.

Eyes widening, Tifa watched his every foot fall as he approached the two of them and stopped directly in front of her, "Hello, Tifa."

* * *

_Next: Things get...complicated...not Avril Lavigne 'complicated'...but Complicated..._

_Please Review._


	5. Prelude to an Attack

_Ah...the holidays, I know I've neglected to update this fic, but I know you can forgive me with this update, I hope..._

_The Disclaimer is on my profile, enjoy!_

_**Phase II - Prelude to an Attack**_

* * *

"Huh? Wait…Vincent?" All of a sudden Tifa was flooded with images of her encounter with Vincent and some other images of her sitting in a daisy field with a beautiful older woman who looked somewhat like her….

"Whoa wait a minute, Teef you know _him_?" Yuffie then nudged her head towards Vincent who calmly watched the two of them.

Blinking in confusion at what she just saw, Tifa shook her head and frowned in thought, and then gave Vincent a puzzled look, "How did you know my name…I don't remember telling you my name…."

Feeling a nudge from Yuffie, Tifa then shook her head again and gave him a bright smile, "Sorry, um, Yuffie this is Vincent Valentine, he's the one I've been telling you about. Vincent, this is Yuf-

"Hi! I'm Yuffie Kisaragi!" Pushing Tifa off to the side, Yuffie then smiled at Vincent as he gave her a blank look and nodded.

Focusing on Tifa, who was at the moment glaring daggers behind Yuffie's back, he then addressed her, "I assume you're here to meet me?"

"Um…"

"Yup!" Nodding vigorously Yuffie then seized his arm and pulled him towards the doors, "Let me give you the grand tour of the campus…c'mon this way."

Smirking in the shadows of the administration building, a silent figure gave one last glance at Tifa who trailed after an excited Yuffie tugging on Vincent's arm, "I will take all that you care for, Valentine…."

* * *

"So, I take it that Yuffie is your roommate?"

Sighing, Tifa sat up from her chair and nodded, after a long winded tour of the campus, the three of them decided to make a pit stop at one of the nearest Shinra Coffee (seeing as it dominated as having most coffee shops on the campus). Finding a table for the three of them, while Yuffie was grabbing the drinks for them Tifa then glanced at Vincent, who had his hands on the table and was currently twisting the ring on his right index finger, "That's a beautiful ring."

"Hmm…" Lifting his hand up, he glanced at the garnet stone inlayed in the intricate silver band of the ring.

Watching him she gave him a small smile as she noticed the contemplative look in his eyes.

Silence enveloped the two of them again, just as Yuffie finally came over to the two of them with their drinks in hand, "So what did I miss?"

"Oh nothing much…." said Tifa as she took two mugs from Yuffie and handed the only cup without whip cream to Vincent.

"You guys wouldn't believe how long it took me to get these." Yuffie then took a sip of her Caffè Mocha with whip and nearly spit the drink into Vincent's face.

"Augh…what the hell! This is not whip cream! It's cream cheese!"

"Yuffie-

Before Tifa could stop her, Yuffie stomped over to the counter with her mug and began demanding to see the punk who made her drink. Standing up from her seat, Tifa was about to head over to help Yuffie when Vincent spoke, "I think she can handle it."

Slowly settling back down on her seat, Tifa picked up her mug and gingerly took a sip of it, finding that there was nothing wrong her drink, she then happy took a few more sips. Placing the mug down, she then noticed Vincent slipping his ring back onto his finger, thinking back to their conversation in the hospital, she then smiled cheerfully.

"Vincent…what did you mean, when you said that you are 'Death'?"

"I am Death."

"Right…and I'm the Princess of Wutai, really what did you mean by that?"

Sighing, Vincent took the ring off and held it between his fingers, "This is a Lazarus ring. It allows a deity to have 'life' and become visible to mortals."

"Really…?" Taking the ring that was offered to her, Tifa glanced at Vincent as she rolled the ring between her fingers, "But I can see you…."

Chuckling, Vincent then called out Yuffie's name. Watching as her roommate quickly turned around in annoyance, she then saw Yuffie frown and ask, "Hey Teef, where did Vincent go?"

Looking back at Vincent who was indeed still seated in front of her smirking at her surprised expression, "You can't-Uh…he went to the washroom."

After Yuffie nodded and returned back to her dispute, Tifa handed back the ring to Vincent's open hand and watched as his complexion imperceptibly gained a livelier pale colour as he slipped the ring back on.

Leaning toward him, Tifa then gave him a confused smile, "How did you do that?"

Following her suit, he leaned towards her with an amused look, "As I've said before, I am Death."

"Your Death…as in the Grim Reaper, Hades, Azrael the archangel of Death?" said Tifa skeptically.

"Yes, those are a few of the names that I am known as…you don't believe me?"

Chuckling at her unconvinced stance, he then took a sip of his black coffee and grimaced, putting down the mug, he was about to stand when Zack suddenly materialized right next to him.

"Sir, I got a message from Jealous…" Now noticing a wide eyed Tifa staring at him, Zack grinned and gave her a small wave, "Hiya, Teef! As I was saying-

"But you died…how…how…"

"Wait a minute, you can see me?" said a surprised Zack as he watched her back away from the table, stumbling into a few patrons before running out the door into the late November snow.

Standing up from his seat, Vincent then gave Zack a withering glare and chased after her, leaving Zack standing there with a confused expression.

* * *

Gasping heavily after her sprint across the campus to the residences, Tifa leaned against the door of her dorm room and slowly slid down to the floor, grasping her head muttering, "No…It's just my-

"_Your imagination_, I don't think so."

Looking up she then saw a long silver haired and pristinely dressed man, who looked somewhat like Sephiroth, watching her with distain.

Warily getting up from her crouch on the floor and tensing her muscles to prepare to fight or run she then icily addressed the man, "How did you get in here?"

"I let myself in."

In a blink of her eye, he was now standing in front of her, looking at her up and down, "You're to come with me."

He then grabbed her arm and was about to phase out of the dorms when, she punched him in the stomach and yanked open the door to escape, but was stopped by a strong arm slamming the door shut. Spinning around with a roundhouse kick, the stranger caught her leg and threw her into a wall, and slowly walked over to her, "This is going to be interesting…"

Pushing herself off the floor, she glared at him and stood in a defensive position, ignoring her cut lip and broken ribs. Suddenly charging towards her, the man in quick succession punched and kicked as Tifa countered and managed to grab a hold of an arm and throw the man onto her desk, splintering the desk and causing a general commotion that attracted the other dorm residences.

Bursting out her dorm into the hallway, Tifa made a run for the fire escape, but was blocked by a muscular silver haired man standing in front of her cracking his knuckles, "Looks like it's my turn."

"Shit." Just as she was about to run, she felt someone's hand on her shoulder, turning to examine the hand, she then recognized the ring on the hand.

Suddenly the lights in the hall blinked out, and she sensed a heaviness fall around her, then she heard Vincent's deep, calm voice, with each word he said she felt a chill seep into her very being, "Gentlemen, I suggest you find another activity to do."

The heaviness was suddenly lifted and the lights flickered back on, showing that the two men had disappeared, blinking confusedly Tifa muttered a 'thanks' and collapsed into Vincent's arms.

* * *

_Next: Something looming in the horizon, and its not superman..._

_Fact from Fiction: The name Lazarus is associated with the New Testament, wherein Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead ( I think you can now see the connection with Vincent's ring). Also the name of Azrael the archangel of Death is attributed to the Islamic religion._

_Please review._


	6. Reunion

_Okay...for those that have stuck with this so far...I did a mini-overhaul, first off this fic is probably going to stick with a T-rating (sorry if I kept your hopes up...) and lastly I changed the genre listing but its still that mix of genres that I stated in chapter 2._

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy!_

_**Phase II - part II: Reunion**_

* * *

"Don't you think you over did it?" said Zack questioningly as he carefully placed Tifa onto her bed, while Vincent repaired the room, with a mere flick of his wrist.

"Er…I mean, what happened…?" Corrected Zack as he felt the room temperature drop, with the evident annoyance Vincent sent out in his aura.

"They were tracing her, just when you appeared." strolling over to Tifa's unconscious form, Vincent then glanced at Zack with suspicion while, he checked her pulse.

"Were you followed?"

"No sir…well at least I think I wasn't followed…does the Ferryman count?"

Ignoring Zack, Vincent then concentrated on Tifa's aura, feeling it flare in pain in certain areas, he then pulled out a green orb of materia and healed her injuries. Standing, he then turned to Zack who as at the moment reading one of the papers on Tifa's desk.

"Zack"

Placing the paper back on the desk, Zack then cleared his throat, "Right, Jealous-

"Tifa, you in there?" Suddenly without warning Yuffie burst into the dorm room, carefully closing the door behind her, she then noticed Tifa lying prone on her bed.

"Tifa…you okay? Hello? Hey!" Just as she was about to shake Tifa, Yuffie felt someone standing behind her.

"Vincent! Holy shit, when did you come here? Is Tifa alright?"

"She most likely collapsed from the stress." Said Vincent as he twisted the ring on his finger and glanced at Zack who was comically frozen in shock as Yuffie just walked right through him and placed Tifa's and her own coat onto a empty chair.

"Oh, hey Vince, I forgot to ask, um…are you…uh…free?" Said an uncharacteristically shy Yuffie as she fidgeted with her bedspread and turned slightly pink in her cheeks.

Eyes widening in surprise, Vincent stood there speechless, then he glared at Zack as he noticed him sniggering in the corner of the dorm, putting on his blank face he then addressed Yuffie, "I'm sorry it is against University policies for me to be involved with any of my students."

"Oh…okay, but can we still be friends?" Asked an astonishingly cheerful Yuffie as she smiled at him.

Ignoring the continuous sniggering from Zack, Vincent, inwardly sighed at not having to deal with a crying Yuffie, and silently nodded. Standing up Yuffie then shuffled Vincent and Zack out the door and told them that they could come visit tomorrow.

* * *

The very next morning, Vincent came over at dawn and insisted that he watch over Tifa who still hadn't woken up. Still unsure of his motives, Yuffie grinned at him tiredly but still somewhat mischievously; and she stood up and announced that she'll crash with Shelke Rui since they had to work on project. 

It was five minutes after Yuffie left that a grinning Zack appeared and the two of them finally had a chance to discuss the development of who was plotting to remove Tifa Lockhart…

"As I've said Jealous has no recollection of ever having heard of Tifa here." said Zack as he fidgeted with a lose thread on the cuff of his suit.

"You are absolutely sure that Jealous wasn't lying to you?" said a skeptical Vincent as he glanced at Tifa.

Thinking over his conversation with the goddess, Zack nodded, "I think so, besides she mentioned something about cursing some guy named Dean Winchester, whoever he is."

Frowning, Vincent thought over how Tifa was able to see them, "What about her bloodline? She does not have a single drop of a god's blood in her, is she related to any-

"No, sir if I may…" Waiting for a sign from Vincent to continue, Zack glanced at Tifa just as she was about to open her eyes, "I think she is awake."

Standing from his seat Vincent, strode over to Tifa's side and took a seat, "Are you alright?"

"Stay back!" said Tifa as tried to jump off her bed to stand in a defensive position but swayed dangerously from her quick movements.

"Careful, you don't want to faint again." Vincent then slowly lowered Tifa back down onto her bed.

Watching Zack warily from her position on her bed, Tifa silently waited for an explanation to be made, as she nodded at Vincent to take a seat.

Considering, everything that had happened, Vincent bluntly stated in a calm voice: "Someone wants you dead."

Clearly not amused with this explanation, Tifa crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at Vincent, "_Someone wants me dead._"

"Teef, look I know this is going to sound crazy to you but, it is not your time to die, at least that's what the records say." Interjected Zack

Staring at the two of them as if they were two, abet good looking, escapees of the nearest mental institution, Tifa sat there silently as if waiting for Yuffie to jump out and yell: 'Fooled Ya!'

Slowly, Tifa lowered her arms as she realized how serious the two of them were watching her, "So what you're telling me is that, someone is trying to kill me when I'm not supposed to die yet, and you two are what…my bodyguards?"

"Er…well, something like that, you see Teef…Everyone on this planet has a timeline that dictates their life." Scratching the back of his neck sheepishly Zack continued with his explanation, "It's not permanent, so it allows for deviations, but when it comes to a person's death, we know when it's their time."

"Basically, there has been a huge deviation in your timeline, and what we're trying to figure out is who is causing It." said Zack as he turned to Vincent for confirmation.

Silently nodding to Zack's questioning glance, Vincent then turned to Tifa, asking her in a somber tone, "Do you wish to see your parents?"

"My parents…?" Surprised at hearing Vincent mention her parents, Tifa nodded uncertainly, as she watched him stand and snapped his fingers.

In front of her very eyes, a glowing light grew from the floor, suddenly several strands of the acid green Lifestream came shooting up, materializing into two humanoid forms. Tifa blinked a few times before she registered who was floating before her, though slightly younger than what she remembered, her father smiled at her proudly with one of his arms around a beautiful dark haired woman who she assumed was her mother.

"Dad…is it really you?" said a shaking Tifa as she got off of her bed and took an uncertain step towards the two spirits.

Giving her a rueful smile, Aaron Lockhart nodded and then turned to his wife, who was watching Tifa with tears in her eyes, "This is my baby Tifa?"

Gliding towards a teary Tifa, Désirée Lockhart stopped in front of her and giggled, "I'm so proud of you; I bet all the boys can't get enough of you."

Laughing brightly with her mother, Tifa glanced at a grinning Zack and then turned to Vincent whom she noticed had an almost pleased look on his usually nonchalant face, "You really are Death."

Suddenly breaking the moment, Aaron Lockhart abruptly called out to his wife: "Dés!"

The smile disappeared from Mrs. Lockhart's face as she nodded to her husband and in a stern tone she turned to Tifa, "You stay safe." Swiftly turning to Vincent she then narrowed her eyes, "And I expect you to protect her."

All of a sudden the two spirits disappeared; leaving a sobbing Tifa slumped on the floor. Zack then rushed to her side rubbing her back, "Hey, Teef what's wrong?"

Out of the blue, Tifa started laughing, not just giggling but full out body shaking laughter, "I can't believe it- I really am going insane, here I am talking to my dead parents and being comforted by a dead man."

Wearily getting up from the floor, Tifa sashayed towards Vincent and poked him in his chest, "You're good at this Vincent, who taught you these tricks? David Copperfield?" Then Rounding onto Zack, she smiled at him, "And you…you must have some amazing plastic surgeon, even your expressions are perfect."

Staring at Tifa in confusion, Zack shuffled over to Vincent's side and muttered, "Do you think she lost her marbles?"

Silently watching Tifa organize her desk and mutter to herself about going to the hospital to check that indeed still had her brain, Vincent then took a step towards her, "Tifa, this is not a trick."

Taking a step back from the frustration that flared in her aura, Vincent backed away when she abruptly turned around and faced the two of them, "I know this isn't a trick, how the hell do expect me to react, suddenly finding myself being confronted with this!"

Letting out a breath, she then collapsed onto her bed and sighed heavily, "So, what do we do?"

Glancing at Zack's apprehensive face, Vincent nodded at him to move and then led Tifa out of the dorm room….

* * *

_Next: Things begin to make sense...in a convoluted way..._

_Cameos: I don't know if any of you noticed, Dean Winchester from the CW show SUPERNATURAL was mentioned in passing. Also for those who never heard of him David Copperfield is an Illusionist (you get the reference Tifa makes now?)._

_Please Review._


	7. Coup de Grâce

_Okay...here are some reasons as to why I've taken so long to update, 1.) I'm focusing on school 2.) I'm now officially a staff member at Anime Evolution 3.) I haven't had the time to continue writing. Now that you know...I'll just say this, I dedicate this chapter to those who have stayed with this fic, thank you._

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy! _

**_Coup de Grâce_**

* * *

"It's time, I want her alive and unspoiled." said the cackle of a voice in the shadows, as Azul the Cerulean grunted in reply and lumbered off to do as instructed. 

"I will get what I want Valentine…."

* * *

"So where to, yo?" 

"The Forgotten City." said Tifa as she looked out the side of the helicopter, admiring the bright blue of the sky.

"So what brings you there?" said Reno as he tried to make small talk over the roar of the helicopter blades.

"Project." Mumbled Tifa as she tried to act nonchalant.

Thinking back to her conversation with Vincent and Zack, she mulled over what they had said before she met up with Reno:

"_Zack__"_

"_Wait, Vincent where-_

"_The Forgotten City, you will have to meet the Fates, then we will have some idea as to whom or what is causing this." said Vincent as he continued to lead Tifa out of the dorms while Zack walked ahead of them waiting for his phone to connect…_

_When they finally arrived at the Heliport, Zack finally finished his conversation on the phone and turned to Vincent, __"Sir, they only agreed to see her if she goes there on her own." said Zack somberly as he closed his phone and it disappeared into the air as smoke._

_Closing his eyes, Vincent sighed, causing Tifa to glance nervously between them. _

"_What do you mean I have to go alone?"__ asked Tifa uncertainly_

_Opening his eyes, Vincent glanced sympathetically at her, giving her a semi-smile, he then took her left hand and slipped the Lazarus ring on her index finger, "I'm sorry, but this will protect you."_

_Without another word, Vincent turned around and walked away leaving Tifa to stare at the now brightly glowing garnet stone. She was about to chase after Vincent, when Zack's hand on her shoulder stopped her. Turning to Zack, she watched as he shook his head, "We'll meet you there, alright?"_

_Nodding, Tifa then walked toward the hangar, turning around at the call of her name, she heard Zack call out to her, "He cares about you!"_

"Project…?"

"Yeah…look Reno could we just-

Suddenly the helicopter shook violently, shaking all the occupants, "Whoa…what the hell was that yo?" While Reno straightened out the chopper, Tifa looked out her window and noticed a blunt object coming towards them fast!

"Reno, move the chopper!"

"Hold on to something!" Grabbing the controls with both hands, Reno banked the chopper to the right just barely making it from the now visible torpedo. Scanning the surroundings again Reno swerved to the left as another projectile came towards them.

Grinding his teeth, Reno pitched the nose of the chopper down, gaining speed as they surged forward, just as the two projectiles collided into each other shaking the helicopter erratically with their impact, "Tifa! You alright?!"

When she didn't answer, he glanced to his left, and saw Tifa knocked unconscious and was bleeding on her forehead, "Dammit, hang in there Teef."

Dodging a few more torpedoes, Reno then did the unthinkable; he accelerated and did an Immelmann turn just as a red smokescreen exploded, and blocked his maneuver from allowing him to see their assailant, "C'mon you piece of shit, show yourself!"

The chopper then plummeted as a heavy weight suddenly pulled them down, gravity adding to their acceleration. Without warning a large hand broke the windshield punching Reno. With a monstrous grin, Azul the Cerulean chuckled and ripped off the whole windshield and was about to make a grab for Tifa, when he was kicked away by a broken nosed Reno, jumping out of his seat. Growling, Azul made another pass at Tifa, and was stopped by Reno's EMR that was surprisingly in his mouth, just as Azul was about to bite on it, Reno pressed the tiny concealed button, and shocked Azul dead. Kicking off the extra weight (Azul), Reno smirked, "See you in hell, yo!"

Wind whipping through his hair as they plunged towards the earth, Reno struggled to get back into his seat, clutching the throttle and grinding his teeth as he ignored the shards of broken glass that were cutting into him. With his other hand he grabbed onto his thrashing seat belt as finally hulled himself into his seat and tried to pull up….

* * *

Tasting the metal tang of blood in her mouth, Tifa groaned in pain, blinking away the noon sun, she then felt restricted. Looking down she realized that she was sitting in what was a broken shell of a helicopter, eyes widening as flashbacks of the whole battle in the air came back to her. She then unbuckled herself, and pulled herself out of the chopper, and fell clumsily onto the dusty ground of the Wastelands. Coughing out the dust in her mouth, Tifa took in her surroundings, craggy boulders and scraps of the helicopter were littered around her, recognizing the shock of red hair blowing in the wind, she crawled over to it. 

"Reno…hey…we made it." Turning him face up, Tifa bit back a laugh as she noticed the smirk plastered on his face, "Reno, wake up."

Shaking him now, since he didn't answer her, Tifa this time raised her voice, "Reno, wake up!"

Hearing what sounded like muffled cries of anguish, Reno groaned and licked his lips, "C'mon five more minutes yo." Opening his eyes, he then closed them again as the noon sun beat down on him. Bringing a hand over his eyes, Reno then fully opened them and slowly got up, brushing off his pants and straightening himself out, with a yawn. Scanning his surroundings, he took in the pieces of his chopper and moaned, but then he grinned as he remembered his fight with Azul, "Heh, great…."

"No…please, wake up!"

Frowning, Reno looked around for the source of that familiar voice, stepping around a particularly large boulder, he then saw the memorable figure of Tifa Lockhart clutching what appeared to be-

"Aw shit, I'm dead yo?!"

Turning around at that recognizable 'yo', Tifa's eyes widened, glancing down in her arms, she held a clearly _dead_ smirking Reno, looking up she watched him approach.

Seeing and hearing him groan as he took in his body in her arms, Tifa blinked up at him surprised, "Reno…?"

Still ignoring her, Reno continued with his assessment of his body, "Dammit, I broke it!" Picking up his broken EMR, Reno looked forlornly at it then shrugged his shoulders and tossed it behind him, as he pulled out a brand new EMR from his coat pocket and smirked.

"Reno…"

"Yeah, Teef?" said Reno as he finally turned to a disheveled and tearstained Tifa.

"You're…."

"Yeah, I'm dead, yet I'm standing here talking to you. Long Story short, my title is Hermes, but I prefer to be called Reno, yo." Giving her a hand up, he then took in her confused expression.

"What…?"

"You're a god?" Suddenly bursting into laugher, Tifa clutched her sides and then wiped away her tears of laughter, "You're joking right?"

Frowning at her, Reno crossed his arms and then gave her a saucy smirk and a wink, "I'm the real thing, babe."

Laughing again, Tifa then stood up straight as she heard a slight rumbling sound coming towards them and gaining volume. Squinting into the far desert-like area, she then caught the sight of a bright golden blob, approaching quickly.

Raising a hand over her eyes, Tifa then rubbed her eyes, silently watching as the golden blob became more distinctly human and recognizable, "Is that…?"

"Well, if it ain't Spike…" Chuckling to himself, Reno then patted Tifa's shoulder, "Don't worry, he can't see me…yet…"

"Wha-

Coughing loudly as Cloud Strife suddenly pulled to a stop in front of Tifa, Reno gave her a wink and pushed her towards Cloud, who was now climbing off his motorcycle.

"Tifa…" said a concerned Cloud as he pulled off his shades and tucked them into a back pocket, "Tifa, are you alright?"

* * *

_Hmm...looks like **someone** has made their move..._

_Please Review, it lets me know that people are actually reading this...if no one is reading it then I **will **take the fic down._


	8. Change in Plans

_I'm back, alright so I've been away for at least a two months now...eh heh heh, anyways here's the next chapter. Ah just another note, I was pleasantly surprised to find this fic in a community on here, but for future reference, if you would like to put my fics in a comm, could you at least let me know before?_

_Anyways, as usual per chapter, the disclaimer is on my profile._

_**Phase III: Change in Plan(s)**_

* * *

"Cloud…how?"

"Tifa…I don't know why but someone told me to go find you in the Wastelands…are you alright?" asked Cloud as he took in her disheveled appearance and the shock in her eyes at seeing him there.

"I'm-

_Go with him, he will help you…_

"Tifa…?"

Blinking in surprise, Tifa looked up into Cloud's striking blue eyes, "Cloud…did you hear…"

"C'mon Tifa…I don't know how you got here on your own but, let's get out of here…"

* * *

The woman shuffled a deck of Victorian gothic tarot cards, her sister then pulled a card off of the top of deck, arranging it so that it faced up, and the third sister then spoke in a low wisdom filled voice, "The Tower has made his move and will strike again."

"What about the Star?" said a concerned male voice.

One of the women picked up three more cards and placed them next to the single card, she turned to her sister, who silently nodded and said, "The Star is with the Fool and the Sun…."

* * *

Finally arriving in Kalm as the sun was slowly setting, Tifa climbed down Fenrir, as Cloud removed his sunglasses and cut the engine, "Tifa you should call Yuffie, I'll go book us some rooms at an inn."

Nodding and smiling at Cloud, Tifa followed after him to the closest Inn. Glancing around her surroundings, Tifa puzzled over all that she learned: Reno was a god, someone was after her life, her parents were looking out for her beyond the grave, and the thing that nagged her most was Zack's comment…

"What did he mean….'He cares about you'….?" mumbled Tifa as she passed some store owners who were beginning to light up their stores with the oncoming darkness in the sky.

"Ha, we're going there, yo?"

Jumping at the sound of Reno's voice in her ear, she turned around and saw him leaning against one of the many stone cottages that lined the main street, "Reno…" Looking up at what he was pointing at, she glanced at the name of the inn, "Providence Inn: Past Present and Future, You'll get what is Best."

"C'mon Tifa, let's mosey." called out Cloud as he noticed that she was trailing behind him. Smiling at his trademark line, she ran after him, followed by a smirking Reno.

* * *

"He's really concerned isn't he?"

"Oh, Cissnei…yeah he is…" said Zack as he turned away from the brunette and watched Vincent glance out the window every few minutes.

"So what brings you here, Cissnei? Tseng not working you hard enough?" said Zack with a playful grin.

"Ha, very funny…I'm just here to check up on you, My Lord expects results, and I'm here to insure that they come to fruition."

"They will, don't worry…."

Turning around at the lack of response, Zack chucked and rolled his eyes at the abruptness at which the young assistant left. He then walked into the room, and headed towards Vincent who was at the moment gazing at the expanse of a moonlit, Forgotten City.

"Where were you?"

Staring at his boss for a few seconds, Zack then grinned and said, "Oh, I just went off to see Aerith."

Complete silence covered them after Zack's remark, which made Zack even more fidgety, so he decided to break the brooding silence that Vincent was in, "Sir, you shouldn't worry…she is fine-

"No, something is not right." Facing his subordinate, Vincent glanced at his surprised face and continued, "He has made his move."

"Sir…?"

Walking away from the window, Vincent strolled over to the mahogany desk that had an elegant crystal chessboard, picking up one of the black crystal rooks, he then handed it to Zack and without a word he phased out of the room.

Staring at the miniature tower-like piece in his hand, Zack frowned deeply and placed the piece back in it place and disappeared after Vincent.

* * *

Breathing in deeply, Tifa dug her fingernails into her palms painfully, gritting her teeth, she then yanked open her door, "Reno! For the last time, will you stop….Vincent?"

Standing calmly in front of her, Vincent studied her for a few seconds before softly calling her name, "Tifa."

"Vincent, do you want to come in?" said Tifa with a nervous chuckle as she quickly moved aside to allow him in.

Stepping into the cozy room, Vincent watched her close the door and stand self-consciously watching him. Awkward silence filled the room as the two of them continued staring at each other in wait for either one of them to make a move.

Finally resigning to the need to find out if she was well, Vincent calmly stated in a somewhat concerned tone, "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, thanks to your ring, I'm not injured." Said Tifa as she moved away from the door and approached the single queen sized bed. Taking a seat on the bed, she ran a hand through her hair not noticing how Vincent's eyes flickered to the thin cut above her right eyebrow.

Stepping towards her, he then took a seat near her and touched the cut, which caused her to gasp in surprise as she felt a slight tingling sensation just above her eyebrow. Pulling his hand back he then watched her feel the spot and gave him a questioning look. Staring back her in silence, he then answered her questioning glance, "You had a cut there."

"Thank you."

"…."

"Vincent…we were attacked." Seeing the surprise that flitted across his eyes, she continued, "I don't know who it was but he just came out of no where, I don't remember much since I was knocked out, but Reno…he's…actually-

"Hermes." said Vincent with a frown

"You knew?!" said Tifa incredulously, sighing she shook her head and muttered, "Of course he would know, he's Death…."

Suppressing the urge to grin at her remark, he then snapped his fingers and in his hands appeared a heavy red cloak, noticing the curious glance that she gave him; he then picked up the cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Well, ain't that sweet of you, Vince."

Without even a glance towards the red head, Vincent coldly answered: "So you finally decided to show yourself, even after I specifically _ordered_ you to protect her?"

"Hey! She's here right?!" Said Reno as he stepped away from the wall that he was leaning on and glared at the dark-haired deity with indignation, "Hell I did my best, what did you expect we were attacked by Azul, yo."

Eyes flashing at the mention of Azul, Vincent abruptly stood up, "Azul the Cerulean, attacked you?"

Glancing between the two of them Tifa, sighed deeply, gaining the attention of the two deities, "Look either explain what is going on or I'm just going to leave and forget that I have ever met you two."

Nodding silently, Vincent summoned Zack, and continued his discussion with Reno.

Crossing her arms and giving the two men annoyed looks, she then felt someone tap her shoulder. "Zack, could you please-

"C'mon, let's get out of here and leave the speculation to the pros." said Zack as he pulled her off the bed and proceeded to lead her out of the room.

* * *

"He failed…this can't be I will have my place…Nero!"

As a billow of black wisps of smoke appeared a red-eyed man with untidy black hair stepped out of it and bowed low in front of the seated person in the shadows.

"Sir…"

"Bring me Lockhart."

Nodding silently to the voice, Nero the Sable disappeared into black wisps of smoke.

* * *

"Zack, who is Azul the Cerulean?" said Tifa as she leaned on the wooden railing of the balcony overlooking the main street of Kalm.

Visibly stiffening, Zack turned to Tifa who was still wrapped up in the crimson cloak, and sighed, "He was the one that attacked you two?"

"Yes..."

"Azul the Cerulean is…."

* * *

"The Tower's minion…." said Vincent with evident hatred.

"Yeah, it seems that _he_ may have something to do with the attacks, since Azul was one of his minions." said Reno with a shrug.

"Call Charon, tell him to come here, it's time that we find out the truth to the attacks." said Vincent with a glance back towards Reno who gave him a mock salute and walked through the wall.

* * *

Watching Tifa from a distance, as she got reacquainted with Zack, Vincent silently walked over to the two of them, overhearing a surprising comment from Tifa:

"…What happened to Vincent?"

"What do you mean?" said Zack with a puzzled grin.

Struggling to find the right words, Tifa then lamely said, "I mean…did he lose someone important to him?"

"Hmm…I don't know, though from what I heard from the higher ups, there was-

Pausing at the sound of a throat clearing, both Tifa and Zack spun around to find the person in question that they were discussing about, "Sir! Um…Hello, how are you?"

Raising an eyebrow, Vincent walked over to the two of them and said in a friendly tone, "I'm fine, and you Zack?"

Chuckling nervously at the politeness that Vincent answered him, Zack quickly muttered, "I'm good…I'll go see what Aerith is up to, nice talking to you Teef!" and he abruptly disappeared.

Giggling nervously, Tifa then blinked a few times before something registered, "Did he just say Aerith? As in Aerith Gainsborough?"

"Yes, he did…her title is Gaia."

"Aerith is a Goddess?" said Tifa with tears forming in her eyes, as she recalled her best friend and all the times that they had spent together before her untimely death by the hands of an unknown killer.

Noticing how emotional, she was getting at the mention of the Flower girl's name, Vincent quietly nodded and added, "She is happy with her new duties."

Rather than giving into her emotions completely, Tifa quickly wiped away her tears and gave a concerned Vincent a weak smile, "Sorry….I just miss her."

Surprisingly Vincent wiped away more of her unbidden tears, she then took a step towards him and buried her tear stained face onto his suit as she finally broke down. Embracing her shaking shoulders, Vincent then turned around at the quiet shuffling noise that was coming towards them.

"Tifa…?" called out a voice

"Where- Who the _Hell_ are you? What did you do to her?" said Cloud as he saw a crying Tifa in the arms of another man.

* * *

_Next: "There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." - William Shakespeare_

_Hmm...well, what do you think? I mean since my hiatus does it still flow? Is there anything confusing? Questions? Answers?_

_Please Review._


	9. Truth of the Matter

_Gomen nasai, minna (Translation: Sorry Everyone), School has been hell, and my profs aren't relenting on the amount of assignments/midterms I have to do._

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy!_

_**Phase III - Part II: Truth of the Matter  
**_

* * *

Abruptly pulling away from Vincent, Tifa immediately took a step away from him and stuttered out: "Clo-Cloud!"

Openly glaring at the silent dark-haired man in front of him, Cloud then stepped towards Tifa; his gaze softened as he then addressed her: "Are you alright Tifa? Let's go inside, I'll deal with this man later, c'mon."

"Wait, Cloud stop." Resisting his pull on her wrist, Tifa glanced at Vincent's hands and realized that he had no ring on any of his fingers, "Cloud…you can see Vincent?"

Staring at her as if she just walked into a wall, he then slowly said, "Tifa…I think you need to lay down and get some rest."

"Cloud, I'm fine, seriously can you see him?"

"Yes, I can see him."

Suddenly without warning Zack appeared right next to Vincent, "Sir…Charon is on his way- Cloud! Man long time no see!" Zack then strided over to Cloud and gave him a huge bear hug.

Within the arms of Zack, a stunned Cloud blinked repeatedly, "Zack…I thought you…."

Pulling away from him, Zack finished off Cloud's sentence: "Died, ha, yeah I did."

Smiling at Zack who was ruffling Cloud's hair, Tifa turned to Vincent, who then finally spoke, "We're leaving in an hour."

* * *

Cleaning herself up as best she could with the limited amount of time she had left, Tifa grinned as she recalled the reunion Zack and Cloud had. Her grin then shifted to a frown as she thought about how Cloud was able to see the two of them, it was strange how he was able to do that, she even thought how strange it was that she could even see her parents, Zack and Vincent... Shrugging her shoulders, she then sighed and stepped out of her room and headed to the main foyer where they were to meet.

Seeing as everyone else was not there yet, Tifa decided to step outside to explore Kalm. The atmosphere was so much different from the hustle and bustle of Midgar that Tifa found herself lost in one of the many squares they had. Hearing the rustle of a pair of wings, she abruptly turned around with her fists up, and quickly put them down as she saw that it was Vincent walking towards her.

"Oh, Vincent, you scared me there, is it time to go?"

When he didn't answer, Tifa nervously giggled, "Vincent c'mon stop it, are we going or not?"

Seeing as he was now standing in front of her, Tifa took a step away, as she realized her fears, it wasn't Vincent but a man who looked like him, "You're not Vincent Valentine are you…?"

"No." And a disguised Nero the Sable pushed Tifa into the black void that formed behind her.

* * *

"Teef! Hey Tifa! C'mon it's time to go!" Called out Zack from outside of Tifa's room.

"What is the problem here, Zack?" asked Vincent as he appeared next to him.

"I've been out here for five minutes already and she still hasn't come out."

Placing a hand on her door, Vincent closed his eyes and focused on her presence, images of Tifa leaving the room came to him like flash backs. He then opened his eyes and quickly shifted out to the square where Tifa last was...

"Could you at least tell me when you're going to do that, boss?" Said a slightly annoyed Zack as he appeared minutes later next to Vincent who was kneeling next to a crimson pile.

"Wait…Vincent isn't that the cloak you put on Teef?"

* * *

Packing up his stuff, Cloud sighed as he ran a hand through his hair, while he let the thought of being able to see old dead friends and other supernatural deities, sink in. Picking up his cell phone, he opened it up and checked his messages, scrolling past the annoying messages from Yuffie; he then stopped at an unfamiliar name, "The Tower…?"

Just as he was about to select the message, a familiar yet irritating person suddenly appeared in his room, Narrowing his eyes, Cloud then closed his phone and put it into a pocket and stepped towards the red-head, "Don't tell me you're a 'god' too?"

Glaring at Cloud, Reno then pointed down on the floor, "I should make you grovel at my feet but, I'll do that later."

"What do you want? I'm busy."

"We're leaving now, Tifa's missing."

Without even letting Cloud say a thing, Reno disappeared, just as Zack burst into the room, "Cloud! Boy am I glad to find you in your room, c'mon, we got to mosey outta here, Teef-

"-is missing, I know." said a troubled Cloud as he grabbed his stuff and followed after Zack...

"Dang it, move it, Blondie!"

"Professor Highwind?!" said a surprised Cloud as he ran towards the ramp leading to the airship that was starting up its engines.

"Hull ass boy! I've got more fish to deal with than-

"Cid."

Turning around at the sound of that cool voice, Cid Highwind took his cigarette out of his mouth and blew out some smoke, "Yeah, yeah, I got it no verbal abuse to the kid."

Walking away to the bridge, Cid then muttered some choice words about pansy rules, when he was suddenly stopped by an icy glare from Vincent, "Okay! I'll stop, you son of- I mean _Sir_."

* * *

Carefully arranging thirteen tarot cards facedown into a circle, the woman nodded towards her sister who then began flipping the cards starting with the topmost one, while the other sister muttered a few words. The woman who dealt the cards then held her palm up and in her hand appeared a bright glowing green strand of a person's lifeline. Showing the strand to a man standing in the shadows, the man stepped forward and examined the strand carefully, he then spoke: "So this is the Star's life?"

"And you are sure that she is the One?"

The mute sister nodded and pointed to the circle of cards in front of them, and then her blind sister began interpreting the cards:

Further than the reaches of time,

Guiding those who pass,

A shining beacon in the darkness.

Forever lost to those in life,

Forever found to those in death.

One Love, one Life, one Fate.

One sacrifice, to please the Gods.

Falling silent, the blind sister motioned the man forward, while the deaf sister smiled and said: "Our payment?"

Silently nodding, the man called forward his assistant who presented an Innocent's Rose to the three seated women. The assistant then stepped away and returned back to his position next to his superior, after the deaf sister accepted the rose.

* * *

"Ugh…not again." Sitting up Tifa rubbed her eyes as she adjusted to the candle lit room that she found herself in. Glancing around at her surroundings, she then realized that she was sitting on a bed, pulling off the covers, she found herself dressed in what looked to be a black satin empire dress. Climbing off of the bed, she then heard and felt; the rustling of a pair of wings behind her. Quickly turning around, she threw a punch which was caught in the hand of the very same man that she last saw.

"Who the hell are you? Where am I?" said a wary Tifa as she watched the man give her a creepy smile.

"I am Nero, and welcome to the Lab. You have surprisingly fast reflexes, for a human." Nero then circled around her looking at her up and down.

"Quit it, Birdbrain." Smirking at the narrowed eyes of Nero, Tifa inwardly thanked Yuffie for all the times they argued with each other and used all sorts of names to call each other.

"What do you want with me? It's not like I have any powers-

"No. You are the star." said a cryptic Nero as he stepped away from a frowning Tifa and flexed his metallic wings.

"Nero, enough."

Turning around at the familiar voice, Tifa's eyes widened as a bespectacled oily haired man stepped out from the shadows. Stepping back from the man, Tifa tried to back further away, but couldn't, as Nero grasped her shoulders and began leading her out of the room.

Entering a dark corridor lit with medieval torches, Tifa then voiced her confusion, "Where are you talking me?"

"To see my revenge, Valentine will regret the day he took my title."

* * *

_Next: The Second Reunion and Betrayal_

_Mythology 101: Charon AKA "The Ferryman" is the Greek God who sends the dead to Underworld via his ship. (Can you guess who has the title of Charon?)_

_I will really try my best to "Hull ass" in writing this to its end, BUT I've been seriously contemplating whether or not I should continue this fic..._

_Please Review._


	10. Hidden Betrayal

_Here we go, Disclaimer is on my profile_

_**Phase III - Part III: Hidden Betrayal  
**_

* * *

"Vincent!"

Turning towards the voice that called out to him, he then gave her a small smile and started walking towards her. He then noticed her frown as she stood there with her hands on her hips as if in annoyance.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

Not answering her, he continued walking towards her in silence with a gleam of mischief in his eyes. She then turned around in a huff and began walking away from him, before she realized that she was now walking towards him.

Stopping in her tracks, she then crossed her arms in front of her and then suddenly winced and grasped her stomach, lifting up a bloodied hand she then glanced at a wide-eyed Vincent who ran towards her and caught her before she fell to the ground.

"_Tifa!"_

"Sir! Is everything alright?!" called out Zack from the other side of the door to Vincent's cabin aboard the _Shera_.

Blinking again and ignoring Zack's hammering at his door, Vincent swept a hand over his sweaty face and growled out an order for Zack to come in.

"Vince! You alright?" Pouring a glass of water for his boss, he then handed it to him and took a seat next to him on the bed.

Watching his superior, quickly down the glass, Zack suppressed a smile that was worming its way up; he knew what cased his distress, despite the conflicting argument that he would put up if you were to bluntly ask him. Zack decided to nip the thing in the butt, "Vincent, I swear Tifa is going to be fine-

The two of them suddenly became silent as the shuffling sound of someone approaching the cabin was heard, the two of them holding their breaths immediately relaxed as they heard the familiar voice of Cloud Strife from the other side of the door.

"Vincent…can I come it?"

Vincent calmed himself down and then gave a reply for Cloud to enter.

Opening the door, Cloud took a step in and stopped, seeing Zack sitting next to Vincent, Cloud then unsurely closed the door behind him and stood there in silence.

"So….alright what can I do for you, Cloud?" said a nervous Zack as he glanced from a frowning Vincent to a glaring Cloud.

Changing his expression, Cloud then answered Zack, "I got this message from some person named 'The Tower'-

"Let me see that, please." said Vincent as he got up from his seat and appeared right in front of Cloud with a open palm waiting for the message.

Blinking rapidly, Cloud then grudgingly handed over his phone to Vincent and then took a seat next to Zack who gave him a shrug and a weak grin.

Vincent's calm demeanor immediately changed to that of just barely controlled anger, as he then read the message out loud:

"Death can find his Star, by the Lifestream at the Temple of the Ancients. Be prepared to sacrifice something dear."

* * *

"I'm so sorry…I lost her, she has probably been taken-

"It's alright, she has been taken to the Temple, and we're on our way there."

"Should we let, him know?"

"No, he will find out soon enough."

* * *

Gazing down at the scenery as it flew by, Vincent then felt the presence of Cloud beside him, turning towards the short blond; he then noticed the determined look on his face.

"I'm going to get her back." said Cloud

"Hmm." Replied Vincent as he then turned away from the window and walked towards Cid who was steering the ship at the moment.

"Blondie, getting on your nerves, 'Oh Evil One'?"

Ignoring Cid's attempt to get a reaction from him, Vincent continued on past the foul-mouthed pilot and before he left the bridge, he then said, "Where is Zack?"

"How the hell should I know?"

* * *

Looking at her surroundings, Tifa squinted through the fog and gasped as she recognized the place as the ruins of the Temple of the Ancients. The only thing that was different from what she could remember of the place was that she was standing on one side of an acid green river while on the other bank of the river had the ruins.

"Is this the Temple of Ancients?" whispered Tifa towards Nero who still stood behind her with his hands on her shoulders.

"Indeed, my dear. The setting for the beginning of the end." said the oily haired man in front of her.

"Is everything prepared?"

"Yes, my Lord." said Nero as he bowed slightly and then waved to a shadow, which then formed into a recognizable person.

"Aerith…?" said a surprised Tifa

Walking towards them with a basket of white roses hanging on the crook of her arm, Aerith Gainsborough, calmly walked towards the three of them, not even looking at Tifa who was struggling against Nero's strong grip.

The flower girl, dressed in a green robe stopped immediately in front of them, handing over the basket to the bespectacled man, who grinned gleefully. Stepping over towards Tifa, the flower girl then quickly winked before Nero could notice.

Aerith then took Nero's place of guarding Tifa, while Nero and his superior inspected the white roses in the basket and the black oak rowboat on the beach of the river.

"Are you alright?" Whispered Aerith

"Aerith…I'm so glad to see you, what is going on?" said Tifa as she struggled with the bindings around her hands.

"Don't worry, things will be alright." said Aerith with a smile.

Aerith then turned towards the bespectacled man and nodded towards him, while Nero approached them with a single white rose.

Suddenly piecing together why the rose seemed so familiar, Tifa then struggled even more and tried to crawl away, but to no avail as Aerith had an exceedingly strong grip on her left shoulder.

Watching Aerith accept the white rose from Nero, Tifa then pleaded one last time, "Aerith please, why?!"

"Tifa, don't worry everything will work out in the end." And Aerith then pierced Tifa's shoulder with one of the thorns on the rose...

* * *

"Sir, it's been done." said Cissnei as she rose from her bow to the blond man standing near the open balcony doors of Vincent's office over looking the Lifestream.

"Good, he is arriving is he not?" said Rufus as he swirled a glass of electric blue liquid in his hand.

"Yes, he will arrive with Charon, Apollo, Hermes and the Magician, Sir." said Tseng

Silence then followed Tseng's announcement, which then was broken by Rufus' quiet chuckle, "I see, well let's go and see the festivities shall we?"

* * *

_Next: The last Phase of the plan?_

_hmm...it seems that I'm going to bring this fic to an end soon (hopefully)._

_Please Review, I'd like to know what you think, and how I can improve on my storytelling skills._


	11. Moonlight Sonata

_Hello, I'm back, 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing! (that was random...). Anyways, I've got my finals coming up, then its prep for September, busy busy busy...hopefully I will get things set before school. _

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy._

_**Phase IV - Moonlight Sonata **_

* * *

"Play with me, Mommy!"

Glancing down at the small grinning child that was clutching handfuls of her black dress, Tifa give the child a confused smile, "Mommy?"

"Tifa, go on play with him." said a familiar voice from behind her.

"I don't-

Now walking towards her, Yuffie smiled and bent down towards the young boy, "You wanna play with me?"

The boy then glanced at Tifa questioningly; Tifa then smiled and nodded, while the boy then ran off with Yuffie.

"Teefy, you alright?" said Zack as he appeared next to a startled Tifa

"Z-Zack what is going on here? Where am I?"

Zack then glanced around the stark white surroundings and with a sheepish grin; he then led her to a door that suddenly appeared. Turning the knob he then opened the door to a field of daisies, sitting in the middle of the field was her mother and her father who was tickling the young boy who called her 'Mommy' and chatting with Yuffie.

"Zack, what is going on?"

"Tifa, this is your future…."

* * *

Collecting his things, Cloud then rushed out of his cabin, the moment he heard Cid holler out his name and the fact that they arrived. Sprinting up the metal steps, Cloud then appeared up on deck.

"Blondie, nice of you to make it, Vampy here would like a word with ya."

Walking towards a brooding Vincent, Cloud then noticed how tense the taller man was.

"They're not real, the illusions, just remember that when you head outside."

"What-

"Cloud, yeah about my boss, trust him, seriously just do It." said Zack as he patted him on his back and followed Vincent out to the fog filled Temple of Ancients.

"This place is different, what happened to it?" asked Cloud as he followed after the slightly glowing Vincent and Zack.

"Yeah, Vince, what happened here?"

"…Nero the Sable." said a cryptic Vincent as he continued walking forward till he stopped at the very edge of the glowing Lifestream that steadily coursed by.

Shivering slightly Cloud then rubbed his hands together, while standing quietly next to Zack, who was squinting into the fog and Vincent who then kneeled down to the Lifestream and placed his hand just above it feeling for Tifa's presence.

Without warning a black oak rowboat came into view as it floated towards them, just as the three of them looked into the boat, Vincent then shook with anger as they saw the form of Tifa Lockhart lying in the rowboat deathly pale and surrounded by a bed of white roses and a slowly turning blood red Innocent's Rose in her hands.

"Tifa!"

Before either Vincent or Zack could stop him, Cloud stepped into the Lifestream and waded his way over toward the rowboat. Grasping onto the edge of the boat Cloud leaned in and touched Tifa's ice cold cheek, not noticing the strands of Lifestream inching their way up Cloud's leaning form.

"Cloud, get out of there! Move it!" Yelled out Zack

Now noticing the glowing strands of Lifestream, Cloud then smiled towards Zack and nodded.

"Cloud! Get out of there NOW!"

Ignoring Zack's warning, Cloud then let the strands cover him completely and pull him into the current. The last bit of Cloud Strife that they could see were the tips of his blond spikes, and he was taken under.

"My how foolish he was." said a cackle of a voice from behind them.

Out from the fog stepped Nero the Sable, a hooded Aerith, followed by a bespectacled oily haired man, which caught the attention of Vincent.

"_Hojo_" said Vincent with barely controlled anger.

"Vincent Valentine, the boy who took what belongs to me!" Sneered Hojo as he then stepped towards Vincent with a triumphant gleam in his eyes, "You took my title so it is proper that I took away something that you cherish and MORE!"

Closing his eyes, Vincent thought back to those five years in which he watched over Tifa, the times she smiled, her laugh, her tears, and her beautiful eyes twinkling with amusement and joy.

"No."

"No? What do you mean 'No'?" said an astonished Hojo, who then glanced at Aerith who seemed to be smiling and standing next to a grim looking Zack.

"No more." Vincent now completely consumed by his anger, glowed a deep crimson red and stepped towards Hojo who sneered at him.

"I'm dead already, boy. There isn't anything else you can do to me. Rebuilding this world is my next priority after I get rid of you. Nero!"

Complete darkness then covered the area, as Nero then slashed at the brightly glowing form of Vincent, who then broke into crimson shards, and reformed into Chaos.

Spreading his metallic wings, Nero further deepened his hold on the surroundings causing the air to disappear, creating a vacuum. With a roar, Vincent then shattered again into his normal form and had an arm out with his hand gripping the air as if he had his hand around something. The darkness began fading as Vincent brought his fingers closer together closing the gap between his fingers and thumb. Across from him was Nero, hanging in the air and clawing at his throat in search of the invisible hand that was strangling him.

Gasping for air, Nero ripped one metallic feather from his wings and then threw it at Vincent as a last desperate attempt. Vincent, who didn't even bother dodging it, directed the feather towards Hojo who was now running away. With his true aim, the feather flew right through Hojo's heart, which caused him to stagger and fall face first to the ground.

Throwing the now dead Nero into the Lifestream, Vincent turned Hojo over and then realized that it was just a hologram that he clutched.

"Looking for me?"

Turning towards the black oak rowboat, Hojo was standing upright holding onto Tifa's form like a shield, "You wouldn't dare mutilate your dear Star."

In the blink of an eye, Vincent then disappeared.

"There so you've run away- What the-

Suddenly Hojo was seeing a red cloak float in front of him, waving his arms to push away the cloak, the man lost his balance and landed into the Lifestream pulling Tifa along with him. Vincent then materialized from the cloak and tried to get a grip on Tifa's arm but lost his balance also as Hojo grabbed onto his free arm pulling him along. The three of them fell but just before any part of Tifa touched the glowing green strands a golden yellow light cushioned her and lifted her back into the rowboat….

* * *

Off to the side of the battle happening in front of them, Rufus Shinra, Tseng and Cissnei watched with mild curiosity.

"Now, this is what I call a show. Don't you think that too, Boss?" said Reno who abruptly appeared beside Rufus Shinra.

Nodding towards Tseng, Rufus then turned towards Reno, "It's time, call Morpheus over and bring your painting."

* * *

Flowing through the Lifestream, Vincent grabbed onto a frantic Hojo who was trying to push away the strands of souls who yearned to torture the man who killed them. Calmly dragging the now unconscious scum of a man, to the beach of the river, Vincent then took out four daggers from his pocket and roughly pierced each one of them into Hojo's hands and legs as if he was a specimen to be examined. Turning to Zack and Aerith who stood nearby the rowboat, he made his way over preparing himself for the worst.

"It was Cloud wasn't it? Apollo, the sun god?" asked Vincent as he kneeled next to Tifa now clutching a withered black Innocent's Rose.

"I tried, but its too late isn't it?" said a solemn Cloud as he appeared next to Vincent.

Pulling the rose from Tifa's fingers, Vincent then brushed her hair away from her face and carefully lay her down on the sand. Straightening himself up, Vincent gave one last longing glance at Tifa and then frowned at the slowly regaining conscious form of Hojo lying on the sand.

* * *

_Next: Ignotum per ignotius ..."Unknown by the means of the more unknown"_

_Interesting to note: The title of this chapter goes by the same name as- Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Quasi una fantasia, Op. 27, No. 2 by Ludwig van Beethoven AKA "Moonlight Sonata" This piece is a hauntingly beautiful piece, with its raw emotion of pain and angst, (Sorry Beethoven, but your music is angsty, but in a good way!). I think this is a good piece for Vincent as inside he is surely lamenting Tifa..._

_I've let you hang there haven't I? Well, as any self-respecting fan fiction author wishes, reviews would be nice and appreciated...  
_

_P.S. Ah, while I'm reminiscing, for those who have read Reel Life, I'm _thinking _about__ writing a sequel?/prequel? to it..._


	12. Down to You

_Hey everyone,_

_ First off, I just want to say, thank you to those who favourited/alerted/stumbled upon this fic and read it through till now, I appreciate your patience while you wait for this pre-occupied author to update. _

_Secondly, personal thank you's to the following people for reviewing (it makes me very happy and I love getting feedback as to what I'm doing right/wrong with my writing): onitenshi666, Indigolockheart, Kukuxumusuu, iFlickStars, TSumeSumeragi, TifaValentine99, Pilot101, PhoenixstarOrb, Moony N Prongs, Yumi Reitenshi, animasya18 and stars amongest dust. (stars amongest dust: I couldn't answer your question when you reviewed since you don't have an account here, about Mrs. Lockhart's name pronounciation...I leave that up to you to decide, :D )_

_Anyways, here it is, Disclaimer as per usual is on my profile, enjoy!_

**_Down to You_**

**_

* * *

_**"Jeez, making me do all the work, Yo Rude, you find my painting, yet?"

Glancing over his shoulder at Rude, who was currently flipping through the pile of paintings on the table, Reno continued to twirl his EMR in his hands while leaning backward on a chair.

Shifting through the random drawings and sketches of Reno's, Rude made a mental note to never come back into _this_ studio _ever_. After an impromptu "meeting", the two of them headed over to the Midgar University Faculty of Applied Arts building to retrieve a certain painting that Rude was currently searching for.

"Why do you need it?" said the stoic Rude as he rummaged through a new pile of unfinished paintings.

Standing up from the chair, Reno shrugged and then stuffed his free hand into a particularly large pile and pulled out his painting, "Here, c'mon Rufus is waiting." With a mischievous wink, Reno then disappeared, followed by a silently confused Rude.

* * *

"Talk, were you the one who sent the Innocent's Rose to Tifa Lockhart on Halloween?"

Smirking up at Vincent's face, Hojo chuckled, "No."

Staring down at the scientist, Vincent took out a rather wicked looking scythe-like dagger that had a large garnet stone in the hilt, and unflinchingly stabbed Hojo's heart, twisting it back and forth. He continued to twist as Hojo writhed and screamed in agony.

"I-I didn't do it! STOP IT!" Screeched out Hojo

Pausing his twisting, Vincent stared down at Hojo with cold emotionless eyes, "Who sent it to her?"

"I d-don't….know." gasped out Hojo as he tried to regain his composure, "NO! Honestly I don't know!" Hojo then flinched as he noticed Vincent's hand drifting towards the dagger sticking out of his chest.

"Yo, Rufus what do you want with this?!"

Turning around at the sound of _that_ voice, Vincent stood up and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, as Rufus Shinra, Rude, Reno, Tseng and Cissnei all appeared in front of him.

"Hmm, it seems we came at a bad time, yes?" said a smirking Rufus as he made his way over to an irate Vincent.

"Not now, Shinra."

Vincent was about to turn back towards his "interrogation", when Rufus then chuckled and said, "Then I assume you don't want to find out the real culprit of this mystery?"

Pausing at his words, Vincent then warily faced Rufus and his entourage, narrowing his eyes; he then glanced at Tifa's form on the sand, and then resumed his hostile gaze at the blond man in front of him.

"You're the one who sent it."

Giving Vincent a shrug, Rufus then walked past him and approached Hojo, bending over the scientist, Rufus clicked his tongue, "You have been busy haven't you, Tower?"

"Shinra, you lied! Death was to be my title-

Ignoring the complaints of the scientist, Rufus then called over to his entourage, "Reno, bring your painting over."

"Yes, sir!" said Reno, with a lazy salute he brought the painting over, brushing past Vincent, Reno then winked at him; "You're going to love this Vince."

"Wait! What is going on here?" said Cloud as he finally spoke up.

"Ah, Apollo, so you've finally awoken." said an amused Rufus as he beckoned Rude to follow after Reno, "Hmm, I think you will figure it out soon enough, don't worry things will be fine."

Watching the scene unfolding in front of him, Vincent frowned as he noticed Rude holding down Hojo, so that the man couldn't lift his torso off the ground. "What are you doing?"

"Watch." said Rufus as he then nodded towards Reno who then brought the portrait-sized canvas towards Hojo's face. A blood-curdling scream then ripped out of Hojo's mouth as he was sucked into the painting with the garnet-stone dagger still in his chest.

Lifting the painting, Reno then propped it against a large bolder and bent down to pick up the four daggers that were used to pin the scientist down. Handing the bloody daggers to Rufus, the blond man then passed them to Tseng who pocketed them. Rufus then icily stared down at the painting that held a frantic Hojo banging his blood-dripping fists against the painting as if he were in a fish tank.

Blinking in surprise at the turn of events, Vincent then gazed at the painting containing the scientist who was currently trying to remove the dagger in his chest. Without a word Vincent immediately picked up the painting, and with a disguised look he then addressed Hojo who stared back at him with venom, "You wanted Death, so take it."

And with that Vincent then threw the painting into the acid green river of the Lifestream. Turning towards the group of people along the river beach, he then focused his gaze on the calm blond man. "Shinra, I want answers, now."

"Vincent Valentine, what would you like to know?" said Rufus as he then sat down on a chair that Tseng suddenly pulled out from the air.

"Why did you kill her?"

Assessing the man in front of him, who just rid himself of his nemesis, Rufus then glanced at Zack, who nodded and stepped away from Aerith. Clapping his hands, the surroundings in which all ten of them were in suddenly simmered and became unfocused. In a swirl of colors, the surroundings slowly refocused and became clear; they were now all in Vincent's office, with Tifa lying on the plush crimson loveseat and Rufus sitting in the chair behind Vincent's desk.

"Shinra-

"Vincent, do you regret what happened to her?"

Taken aback by the bizarre question the usually mocking blond man had asked, Vincent remained silent as Rufus continued with his questioning:

"If circumstances were different, would you still have watched over Miss Lockhart?"

Standing in silence, Vincent pondered over his answers, glancing back towards Tifa's prone body; he then noticed that the withered black Innocent's Rose that Tifa had held in her hands previously was not as withered as before.

Before He could even say a word about it, Cloud then stepped in his view. Watching as the shimmering man walked towards him with a cold look on his face, Vincent then whispered: "I would have cared for her till the end."

Stopping in his tracks, Cloud suddenly smiled and nodded as if in approval, "Good."

"Ahem, I have a question for you." said a grinning Zack with one of his hands up, putting it down, the grin on his face slowly turned into a smirk, "Do you love her?"

Standing there in silence as all eyes focused on him, Vincent stared back at them, then glanced at Tifa and frowned, noticing the Innocent's Rose by Tifa's hands was now gradually fading to a grey colour. He then stepped over to her and kneeled down so that he could brush away her bangs. Delicately he placed the flower onto the loveseat and taking her hands in his, he vehemently said: "I do."

Grinning like a Cheshire cat, Rufus sat up in his chair and pressed his fingers together so that they formed a steeple, "See Vincent I told you that things would work out well, isn't that right Mr. Magician?"

Quickly shifting his focus to Rufus, Vincent then glared at him and was about to ask, how in the world that this worked out, when a familiar voice then spoke up:

"Yes, things did work out well despite the little hitch."

Eyes widening in shock, Vincent watched as Zack stepped away from Aerith's side and approached him with a cautious smile, "I sent the rose to Tifa. I'm the Magician." said Zack as he stopped in front of Vincent with his hand palm up as if in apology.

Clearing his throat, Zack then grinned, "Now if you could please move, Aerith and I will fix things."

Seeing confusion in the eyes of his superior, Zack then kneeled down and helped Vincent up. As he pulled the taller man to his feet, he nodded toward Aerith who then, smiled kindly as she walked over to the two men. Stopping in front of Vincent, Aerith placed a comforting hand on his upper arm, "It's alright Vincent, Tifa is fine, and you have to trust us."

Kneeling down Aerith picked up the Innocent's Rose, which was now completely blood-red and then pricked Tifa's finger with one of the thorns. Gradually the colour returned to Tifa's face and she resumed her breathing as if she were in a deep sleep.

Pulling himself away from Zack's grasp on his arms, Vincent again kneeled next to Tifa and took her pulse from her wrist. Letting out the breath that he didn't realize that he was holding; Vincent relaxed as he watched Tifa's eyes slowly open and blink confusedly at him.

"Tifa…"

Eyes widening in recognition of that voice and face, Tifa was about to sit up when she slumped back down, "Slow down there Teef, you're going to feel a bit lightheaded for a few hours." said Zack with a sheepish grin.

"Where…?"

"Hmm, maybe I should start explaining…" Shrugging his shoulders, Zack then drew up a chair for Vincent who glared back at him.

Glancing at the irritated man seated in front of him, Zack gave a nervous chuckle, "Comfortable?"

"Indeed, now explain your idiocy before my patience wears thin." growled Vincent.

"Right, so this started out about five and half years ago, on that very day when Mr. and Mrs. Lockhart appeared before you, the plan was already set in monition. The objective was to find you a companion." Zack then raised his palms to stop Vincent from interrupting, "Let me finish, Vince."

"Now, you've been alone for at least three millennia, how long do you expect us to wait for you to finally be finished repenting for your self-imposed sins? Don't think that just because you have the title of 'Death' that means you are to suffer for all of humanity's sins-

Coughing lightly, Aerith then pointedly raised her eyebrows at Zack who paused and scratched the back of his neck guiltily.

"Um…er…"

"Vincent, I…no, we have all noticed how you kept an eye out for Tifa. She interested you; in all your years down here it was only her that had you yearning for that missing part of you. That was why we had her in mind for your companion." smiled Aerith as she then sat on the edge of the loveseat and hugged Tifa.

Gazing sternly at Zack and Aerith, Vincent turned to Rufus, who sat silently behind _his_ desk relishing in the dramatics of the situation, "I suppose you are the 'mastermind' behind this, telling Zack to-

"Ah, Valentine, this time you are wrong, it was all Zack Fair's plan, I only authorized the use of the supposed 'Innocent's Rose' and Reno's painting. I have been meaning to be rid of that mad man and it so happens this turned out better than I expected." smirked Rufus as he leaned back on his chair.

"You've been meaning to…supposed 'Innocent's Rose'…" said Vincent as he thought about this situation: it was all a ruse, yet a ruse that he couldn't deny that brought him just a little more closer to the hope that he yearned for in the form of Tifa Lockhart.

"That helicopter attack was Hojo." said Vincent as more of a statement than question, which was answered with an affirmative nod from Tseng.

"The stunt with Yazoo and Loz was orchestrated by Shinra as per Fair's proposal?"

"Undeniably correct." said Rufus with a raised eyebrow.

Puzzling over the statement of: "supposed 'Innocent's Rose'", Vincent frowned, and then studied Aerith's kind calm face.

"Yes, you are right Vincent, I lied to you." said Aerith with a cheerful smile, "There is no such rose as the 'Innocent's Rose', it was a legend that I planted, but what did grow was a rose that was similar in appearance but different in its effects."

Picking up the white rose by Tifa's side, she then brought it to Vincent who examined it. "This rose only allows a person a glimpse into the available futures they have when pricked with one of its thorns. And it puts the 'victim' in a death-like state." said Aerith as she then stood next to Zack with a serene smile.

Each of the attacks that happened, the awakening of Cloud, and the secret meetings Zack probably had with the Fates had that made him hard to find at moments. It all fit into place, Vincent then stood up kneeled in front of Tifa.

"For all that has happened, I regret all the pain and suffering it has caused you." said Vincent to Tifa who was stunned silent with shock at the revelation of being at the center of this dilemma.

Looking deeply into his crimson eyes, Tifa could clearly see the unspoken question there, a question that only she could answer. Seeing the small spark of hope lit in his eyes, made her close her eyes in pain, she already seen both of the outcomes of her answer to his unasked question; the predicament of it was what answer she should give….

"Vincent, I…"

"C'mon Tifa, just say that you'll stay, heck I'd-

"Reno shut up." Said Rude before anyone could even slap the red-head for ruining the moment.

Glancing around at all the eyes that were directed at him in surprise, Rude then began to shuffle everyone out of the room to give Vincent and Tifa some space. Stifling a laugh, Tifa smiled at Vincent, who gave her a crooked smirk and clasped her hands in his.

"Will you…?"

Taking her hands out of his, Tifa grasped his hands and brought them towards her chest, placing them right over her heart. "Vincent…I can't stay."

Noticing the dimming of the light in his crimson eyes, Tifa struggled to not cry, "I'm sorry Vincent, I've got Yuffie and so many others that I need to look out for, that need Me." said a teary Tifa as she gave him a watery smile.

Closing his eyes Vincent solemnly nodded and stood up, placing a hand out in front of her, he silently helped her up and began making the preparations for Tifa's departure….

Just before Tifa was going to board the _Shera_, she said her goodbyes to Zack, Aerith, Rufus and his entourage. Stopping in front of Vincent, she gave him a smile and whispered, "Wait for me.", and ran towards Cid and Cloud who were waiting for her to board.

If Tifa turned around just before she ran off, she would have seen the genuine smile that appeared on Vincent's lips….

* * *

_Special note: The title of this chapter is the same as the song DOWN TO YOU by abingdon boys school, this song is amazing and I think it really works for this chapter if you pay attention to the lyrics and overall song! _

_Partial lyrics of DOWN TO YOU (note if you listen to the song, it will give you a hint as to what I'm planning for this fic):  
_

噛み締めていた　唇から  
吐き出すため息は　悲鳴の様で  
You were my sweet, you were my only  
And you were my everything  
You never trick me, you never leave me  
But you run away

Tell me why I lost my mind  
Tell me why I keep closing my eyes  
Tell me why I missed to find  
Another me inside  
ココロ　声を嗄らして  
ザラつく痛みを　胸の奥へ捩じ込んだ

_Edit: This chapter is what I consider to be the last chapter BUT... an epilogue is in the works_ _for completion sake...since I started out with a prologue......_


	13. Epilogue: The White Reaper

_Happy Halloween, everyone!_

_Note: For those who like to read back from the beginning, You are not having deja vu, I deliberately started the epilogue like this  
_

_Disclaimer on my profile, enjoy!_

_**Epilogue: The White Reaper (Shiro no Shinigami**__**)

* * *

**_One year later…

"Tifa, C'mon, Cloud is going to be there! It's Halloween!"

Bouncing on top of her bed in her clubbing/Halloween outfit, Yuffie then jumped onto Tifa's bed, causing a few textbooks to fall heavily onto the floor.

Pausing her hand from picking up the fallen textbook, Tifa then realized that it was one year ago on this day that she met a man she couldn't forget.

"Tifa…? Hello Tifa…" Seeing as Tifa wasn't paying attention to her, Yuffie stopped her bouncing and grinned mischievously, taking at deep breath, she then squealed, "Tifa! Your boob just popped out!"

"What?!" snapping out of her reminiscing, Tifa immediately looked down at her shirt, then glared at a hysterically laughing Yuffie, "Very funny…Ha…Ha…"

After calming down a bit, Yuffie then reiterated her question, "So…are you going or what?"

Turning her attention to Yuffie, Tifa looked her in the eye, "Yuffie, how would you feel if I left here?"

"Whadda you mean leave here?" said a suspicious Yuffie as she realized that Tifa was being serious and took a seat on the bed.

Audibly sighing, Tifa turned her gaze away from Yuffie, "I mean I want to leave…BUT, I will come back…I think…."

"You're kidding right, Teef, c'mon so what if Mr. Emo is too sh-

"It's not about Cloud; he is not why I want to leave…"

"Then what is it? Oh my GOD, don't tell me that you, 4.0 GPA Tifa Lockhart wants to drop out! Holy everyone is going to be-

"Yuffie…"

"-I gotta tell so many people…Shelke, Reno, Rude, Elena, Rosso…wait not her she's a total bit-

"Yuffie, stop…Listen to me for a second, it has nothing to do with school, Cloud, or me smoking anything, don't give me that look, I know that you were thinking that. I just-

"It's Vincent isn't it?" said Yuffie with a sly grin and a wink, "Alright, I'll let you have him, besides he seems more interested in you anyways."

Blinking in surprise at the abruptness in which Yuffie figured out what she was thinking, Tifa stared at Yuffie for a moment, and then noticed the slight glow coming off of her best friend's skin. Eyes widening, Tifa gasped in shock as Yuffie nodded her head towards a hyperventilating Tifa.

"Yup, took you long enough!" said Yuffie as she stood up and put on a pair of feathered wings for her 'costume' and picked up the bow and arrow that was on her bed and walked out of the dorm calling out to no one in particular: "She's all yours Vinny."

Appearing right before Tifa's eyes was Vincent Valentine; dressed immaculately in a tailored Armani suit with ruby stud cufflinks, complete with his unique smile, "Tifa, have you decided?"

Smiling widely, Tifa stood up and stepped towards Vincent, "I have but I have one condition."

"Condition, and what would it be?" said Vincent as he grasped her hand, giving it a squeeze.

"Well, I will go with-

Suddenly appearing in her dorm, Cloud stumbled into Tifa, knocking them both onto her bed.

"Cloud! What are you doing here?" said a ruffled Tifa as she sat up from fall.

"Tifa, please, don't go." said Cloud as he got up from her "…oh and I'm sorry, for knocking into you, I'm not used to phasing on this plane of existence." Added Cloud with a sheepish grin.

Not amused at all at the appearance of Cloud Strife, Vincent silently nodded towards him with pursed lips. Vincent then helped Tifa up from her bed; he then prompted her to continue: "You were saying that you wanted to go…"

"Tifa please reconsider! Zack! Zack come out here, I know you're listening to this!" called out Cloud

Abruptly appearing, Zack gave Vincent a sheepish grin, realizing that his boss was still a bit annoyed at him for doing what he did to Tifa. Turning to Cloud, Zack ran a hand through his hair and chuckled, "Yo, Cloud what's up?"

"Tell Tifa to reconsider, she still has other futures to choose from right?" said a panicky Cloud as he tried to come up with another excuse to keep Tifa by his side.

"Cloud…I'm sorry, it's all up to Teef, I've…er…interfered enough." said Zack with a nervous chuckle as he felt Vincent's piercing gaze on the back of his head.

"But, I…" Cloud then turned to Tifa with sad eyes, "Tifa…what about us, everyone else-

"Cloud, I _want_ to go with Vincent…but with a condition." said Tifa with a kind smile as she explained herself to Cloud, she then glanced at Vincent, as he nodded for her to continue as with Cloud when she turned her gaze towards him.

Taking a deep breath, she resumed her speech of sorts, "For as long as I am with Vincent, I will stay with him, but I will miss the life that I have here, so I would like it if I could stay here four months every year, while I spend the other eight months with you."

Complete silence fell on the three of them as, Vincent considered this condition, while Cloud and Tifa waited anxiously for his answer. Looking the two of them in the eye, Vincent surprisingly turned to Cloud, "I will agree to this, but on the precondition that you, Cloud Strife will protect Tifa, while she is here for those four months."

Chewing over the pros and cons of this requirement, Cloud glanced at Tifa and noticed the hope in her eyes. Sighing, Cloud then nodded, he couldn't just take away what she wanted thought Cloud as he tried to convince himself that he was doing the right thing, "Alright but I swear if you do anything to hurt Tifa at all, _anything_ at all, expect there to be consequences."

"Understandable, but unnecessary, she is in safe hands." said Vincent evenly

Jumping with joy, Tifa hugged Cloud tightly, "Thank you Cloud!"

"Now that things are settled shall we leave my Lady?"

The four of them turned around to find the one and only Rufus Shinra with his entourage, standing by the door looking important.

Grinning at Vincent's exasperated expression, Tifa grabbed his arm and tugged him toward Rufus. Stopping in her tracks, she let go of Vincent's arm and turned back to Cloud.

"Don't worry Cloud; I'll be back soon, thank you for everything." And then she kissed his cheek and ran up to Vincent with a smile.

Meeting her gaze, Vincent then gave her a smile in return, "Ready?"

Grasping his hand, Tifa nodded, "I'm ready."

_**Fin

* * *

  
**_

_And there you have it...its been a long slog with this fic, three times, yes, three times I've honestly considered putting this fic into the discontinued section on my profile...at moments I thought: "This story sucks, it's boring, confusing, and nobody likes it." but then I realized that it would be bad on my part to just stop, and another was that I'd already had the ending prewriten in my head...so lucky lucky that I stuck through it._

_Back story of Till Death Ds Us Part: I've always wanted to write a fantasy/supernatural story loosely based on the Greek Mythology of Hades and The Seasons, I just loved the fact that Death itself yearned for a companion, it's quite the romantic story so to speak, and then I though Vincent Valentine would make a lovely Death/Hades and Tifa would make a great Persephone (read Hades and The Seasons on wikipedia, it will make more sense). Eventually all the characters Greek mythology and Major Arcana (the main deck of) Tarot Card counterparts fell into place, Cloud Strife as Apollo (Greek Sun God) The Sun tarot card (meaning of the card: a New beginning depending on your interpretation), Aerith Gainsborough as Gaia (Greek Goddess of the Earth) The World tarot card (meaning of the card: its self explanatory in the card name itself), and Tifa Lockhart as Persephone (The Goddess of Earth's fertility) The Star tarot card (meaning of card: Hope)...just to name a few...(for more information on tarot cards and Major Arcana look them up on wikipedia)._

_As for what I'm going to be doing next...who knows...keep a lookout, I'll be around again, I may have something up my sleeve, cheers!  
_


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